Third of Brits would transfer money to phone fraudsters

Harry Porter

One in three would unwittingly transfer money to an unknown account if they were telephoned by someone posing as their bank, new research shows.

The poll, conductd by Nationwide Building Society, also reveals that younger people are twice as likely as older people to be caught out in scams.

More than half (52 per cent) of those aged 18 to 24 would transfer their money to another account if they were convinced that either the police, their bank or their building society was asking them to do so, compared to just one in five (22 per cent) aged 55 and over.

And, a fifth (20 per cent) of 18 to 24 year-olds would share their PIN with their bank or building society and one in six (16 per cent) would share the same information with the police.

Stuart Skinner, head of fraud at Nationwide Building Society said: “It is a sad fact that a fraudster needs to only strike it lucky once.

If you’re not careful, you could lose your life savings within a matter of minutes.

“No financial services provider would ever ask customers to transfer money to another account and would never ask for a customer’s PIN. Nationwide, like all banks and building societies, uses a wide range of measures to keep its customers’ money safe, but knowing how to protect yourself is by far the most effective way to avoid becoming another statistic.”

For further details on the types of fraud and how to protect yourself, visit - http://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/security-centre/fraud-awareness/card-fraud